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The Rubert Anderson Award in Systematics

A great way to learn about organismal diversity is to work with a specimen collection. The Gustavus Biology Department has several opportunities to work with plant and animal collections! In order to share our insect, plant, and vertebrate collections with a larger community we are in the process of organizing and displaying information, including images, about the specimens in our collections on a newly-designed website. This site will serve as a resource for classes at Gustavus, the St. Peter community, and scientists.

Collections are a vital component of scientific study and education with uses including:

cataloguing diversity within a taxon

recording species found within a particular geographic range

understanding evolutionary change with and between populations

The Rubert Anderson Award in Systematics is an annual award that is granted to faculty-student collaborators to conduct work with one of the department collections. Faculty-student collaborators develop and submit a short proposal in which they outline their plans to curate and present a portion of a collection on-line.

This award is an opportunity for you to contribute to the department’s educational objectives and learn about a particular taxon.

2. With your faculty collaborator, develop a short proposal in which you:

clearly state what informational content and how much of the collection will be posted online by the end of the award period

describe what archival work needs to be done to support #1 (above) and what you intend to accomplish in one semester

Submit an itemized budget for no more than $160 to support your work. Money can be used to: travel to see collections at other institutions, purchase supplies to present or archive specimens, and acquire texts related to the collection subject

3. Three copies of the proposal are due to Eric Elias (NHS 221B) by 5:00 PM Monday, September 24, 2018. Successful applicants will be notified the following week.

Students will be expected to present their project at an appropriate venue determined by their faculty sponsor and complete an exit interview. Students successfully completing the proposed work will be recognized at Honors Day.